WHO says lost contact with health personnel at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza amid Israeli siege

CAIRO – 25 October 2024: Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom said on Friday that they have lost touch with the staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital as Israeli forces have besieged the hospital.

Israeli forces stormed the hospital in Beit Lahiya early on Friday and ordered evacuation of patients to the courtyard, while conducting mass arrests, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Hundreds of patients, health personnel and those seeking shelter remain trapped in the hospital, according to media reports.

On Thursday, Israeli tanks shelled the hospital’s compound, targeting one of the few remaining functioning medical institutions in the northern side of the enclave, which has suffered Israeli siege over the recent weeks.

“We have lost touch with the personnel there,” Adhanom said on Twitter. “This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there.”

He added that WHO and partners managed to reach Kamal Adwan Hospital late last night amid hostilities in the vicinity, transferring 23 patients and 26 caregivers to Al-Shifa Hospital.

Adhanom noted that Kamal Adwan Hospital has been overflowing with nearly 200 patients and hundreds of people seeking shelter.

“Accessing hospitals across Gaza is getting unbelievably harder and exposes our staff to unnecessary danger,” Adhanom stated.

He reaffirmed their call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and protection of hospitals, patients, health professionals and humanitarians.